Conventional Barbecue grill systems basically consist of a bed upon which charcoal or an equivalent, hereinafter referred to as charcoal, is placed, a grill located above the charcoal bed upon which food is placed for cooking and a framework for holding the components together. During use conventional barbecue grill systems are subject to problems exemplified by the fire produced by the burning charcoal becoming too hot, and flare ups caused by dripping grease or fat accumulating on the charcoal and suddenly igniting. These effects cause non-optimum cooking conditions.
Prior attempts to overcome such problems involved the placing of a wire mesh screen above the charcoal. In particular patents to Gremillion and Lang, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,630,593 and 2,746,378 respectively use this approach.
The mesh screen becomes hot during use and any fat or grease dripping thereon is burned immediately, thereby preventing buildup and flare-ups due to sudden ignition.
While the inventions in Gremillion and Lang have merrit, it must be acknowledged that mesh wire screen made of relatively thin wire will eventually burn through if exposed to heat for any length of time, hence the lifetime of the effectiveness of the inventions alluded to is limited. Also, while the inventions in Gremillion and Lang arguable cause a more even presentation of heat produced by the burning charcoal in a barbecue grill system, they do not allow for placing a solid barrier between said charcoal and the grill upon which food is placed for cooking, and no operator control of the effect is provided for.
A need exists for a barbecue grill system efficiency enhancing system which has essentially limitless life-time and which provides for an operator controlled solid barrier to be placed between the burning charcoal and the grill. Such a system would preferrable allow for adjustment between a condition of essentially no barrier to one of a complete barrier. In addition, when the barrier is in place, it should allow radiant heat to continue to reach the grill so as to keep cooking food warm while, for instance, an operator leaves the grill unattended to answer a phone etc.